Sheriff: 11 illegal casinos shut down in Volusia County

Eleven illegal casinos were recently shut down in Volusia County, Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced Friday.

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Chitwood said the move came following a team effort between the Sheriff’s office and the Florida Gaming Control Commission.

“After an extensive investigation that began over a year ago, we were able to fan out across the county and hit 11 of these illegal gambling facilities,” Chitwood said.

According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, those facilities operated without permits. On top of that, investigators said they caused an increase crimes across the neighborhoods.

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“When you look at the crime that’s generated in and around these places – drug deals, overdoses, armed robberies, burglaries – these places are in a vulnerable hive of criminal activity.”

Chitwood added that these casinos also tend to target senior citizens with low or fixed income, providing catered meals, so people wouldn’t need to leave to get something to eat.

One of the 11 casinos taken down during this investigation made about $5 million with slot machine gabling in 2023, according to investigators.

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They added that all of the shuttered locations had initially received a notice from Volusia Sheriff’s Office warning them to cease operations.

Investigators said they seized about 400 machines, nearly half-a-million dollars, and arrested four people during the operation.

“The Gaming Commission will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to ensure any illegal gaming offerings are shut down,” Florida Gaming Control Commission Executive Director Louis Trombetta said.

Locations that were shut down include:

• Preview Games, 2411 Enterprise Road, Orange City
• Winner’s Circle, 1250 S. SR 15A, DeLand
• Cyber Monkey, 350 S. Spring Garden Ave., DeLand
• Phoenix 3, 2500 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand
• Comptrek, 2525 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand
• Lucky Seven Arcade, 1720 S. U.S. Highway 17, Pierson
• Spin-N-Win, 1464 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach
• Winners, 1468 Ocean Shore Blvd, Ormond Beach
• Lucky Duck, 1376 N. Nova Road, Daytona Beach
• Klix Arcade, 1101 Derbyshire Road, Daytona Beach
• Jiffy, 986 S. Nova Road, Ormond Beach

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